Police said a recent sting uncovered some disturbing problems. Officers said not all metal recyclers are playing by the rules.

At Rojas in northwest Albuquerque, police said they found thousands of cans piled on the property nearly allegedly stolen signs, trash and inaccurate scales.

In southwest Albuquerque, officials said J&R Recycling has been stealing electricity. Police said they also found a stolen propane tank.

When officers raided El Rey Metal in northeast Albuquerque, they said they found beer boxes and trash dumped along a fence line. Police said the scale the company was using would short change customers.

"A lot of it has direct correlation to property crime issues. People are stealing equipment and material from businesses, and recycling them for money," said Joe Martinez of the Safe City Strike Force.

At South Valley Metal, police said they found firefighter air tanks they couldn't trace and nine stolen propane tanks. That company's scale was also not accurate and its metals weren't sorted properly.

Police also went to Omar's in northwest Albuquerque. Investigators said the city cited the business after finding generators spilling oil, trash and broken scales. Officers said they also found a dozen medical-grade oxygen tanks, a dozen metal PNM reels and a city sign.

Authorities raided about a dozen businesses during the sweep.

The businesses were cited for various problems, and some were actually shut down, mainly because of building code violations.

Any stolen property was seized and if possible, returned to the owners.